Before and Afters
Houzz Tour: Midcentury Beach House Opens Up to the Outdoors
An update honors a modern Seattle home’s 1950s roots while making it a better entertaining space
Paul Huggett and Ron Gagliardo didn’t plan to change a thing about their midcentury modern find two blocks from the beach in Seattle. But after three years, things started falling apart in the 1951 home, and they were forced to reconsider. They saw an opportunity to capitalize on the existing open floor plan to create an indoor-outdoor entertaining space.
BEFORE: The couple loved the brick fireplace, large windows and high ceilings, but they saw an opportunity to update the living space, including the kitchen, to maximize their home’s entertaining potential.
Their contractor, Joey Fentress, had experience with midcentury modern homes, had a lot of great ideas and was onboard with keeping the home’s original layout intact.
Their contractor, Joey Fentress, had experience with midcentury modern homes, had a lot of great ideas and was onboard with keeping the home’s original layout intact.
AFTER: They wanted to create better flow between the indoor and outdoor spaces, especially since the home is so close to the beach and the weather is fairly temperate year-round. They replaced one window in the living room with a door leading to the front yard.
“We love to entertain, living so close to the beach. We wanted to open up the windows so you had a big entrance into the house,” Huggett says.
“We love to entertain, living so close to the beach. We wanted to open up the windows so you had a big entrance into the house,” Huggett says.
Because they didn’t want to change the window configuration, their options were limited. Huggett found a Seattle manufacturer that designs doors on pivots. He asked the company to create a giant window that would rotate just like a door but didn’t require the same framing.
The result is a giant window with a pivot that allows it to rotate open, but when the window is closed, it maintains the original configuration.
Pivoting window: HH Windows
The result is a giant window with a pivot that allows it to rotate open, but when the window is closed, it maintains the original configuration.
Pivoting window: HH Windows
Now there’s a connection with the front yard, where Fentress built an ipe deck. “It has created a really fun entertaining house now, and it feels larger. The only thing we did is really update the windows in there,” Huggett says.
A change in flooring also visually expanded the space. The dining room, living room and kitchen had been broken up by a mix of hardwood, carpet and linoleum; the couple installed a light oak hardwood throughout. They also replaced the front door; glass panels match the frosted, rippled glass in the window between the door and the fireplace.
AFTER: They replaced the deteriorating white kitchen cabinets with custom-made oak flat-front cabinets and had custom shelves made to frame the original block windows.
The wall is now an architectural feature that unifies the asymmetrical design of the windows.
The wall is now an architectural feature that unifies the asymmetrical design of the windows.
AFTER: In the new kitchen, they raised the shelf and turned it into an L-shaped oak ledge that matches the shelving in the kitchen. Huggett loves that it’s a more functional interpretation of the original piece.
The couple also wanted lighting that was close to the original fixtures in the house. The square boxes on the ceiling are LED lights that are nearly identical to what was there before.
The couple also wanted lighting that was close to the original fixtures in the house. The square boxes on the ceiling are LED lights that are nearly identical to what was there before.
AFTER: The cabinet was replaced with these cantina-style windows that fold open like an accordion.
The change opened up the kitchen to the outdoors and, Huggett says, dramatically altered the way they live.
Outside there’s now an ipe deck and a counter-height bar with seating. “We are now eating outside all the time. It’s changed the dynamics of our kitchen,” Huggett says.
To compensate for losing upper cabinets, they installed a cabinetry unit on the interior wall that extends to the ceiling. It used to be a brick wall with little functionality, Huggett says.
AFTER: Fentress built a bar with a 24-bottle wine fridge and storage. They dropped in a George Nelson light over Huggett’s original midcentury modern kitchen table and chairs he found in Seattle.
Fentress says the project went smoothly and shows how you can successfully update a home without quashing its character.
Contractor: Joey Fentress of Proform Construction
Browse more homes by style:
Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Fentress says the project went smoothly and shows how you can successfully update a home without quashing its character.
Contractor: Joey Fentress of Proform Construction
Browse more homes by style:
Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Paul Huggett and Ron Gagliardo
Location: Seattle
Size: 2,200 square feet (185.8 square meters); three bedrooms; two bathrooms
Year built: 1951
Budget: $100,000 to $150,000
Midcentury modern architecture is rare in Huggett’s hometown of Atlanta, so when he moved to the West Coast he seized the opportunity to buy a house that embodied the 1950s.
“I didn’t think we were going to renovate the house at all. We loved the character it had,” Huggett says. But then the kitchen cabinets, slathered in several layers of paint, started falling apart.